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Rosie O'Donnell Suffers Heart Attack: What Other Women Can Learn From Her Symptoms

Scary celeb health news: Rosie O'Donnell has revealed that she suffered a heart attack last week. Plus, like many women do, the 50-year-old TV personality ignored her symptoms for a while, and didn't even call 911.Despite the fact that heart disease is the number one...

Scary celeb health news: Rosie O'Donnell has revealed that she suffered a heart attack last week. Plus, like many women do, the 50-year-old TV personality ignored her symptoms for a while, and didn't even call 911.

"In the research I reviewed, about 78 percent of women who have survived a heart attack said they had some type of chest sensation, whether it was discomfort, aches or pain," says Fahs, who is collaborating with Melanie Kalman, associate professor and director of research, and Margaret Wells, assistant professor in the College of Nursing at SUNY Upstate Medical University, on "Matters of Your Heart," a project that aims to educate women about heart attack symptoms. "Women under 75 are more likely to report chest ache than crushing chest pain, which is more common among men," she adds.

"both my arms were sore"

"Radiating pains is one of the common symptoms," says Fahs. "About 50 percent of women who have survived a heart attack had some discomfort to the back, jaw or arms."

"i became nauseous," "i threw up"

"This doesn't happen as frequently as some of the others -- a little more of a third of women who survived a heart attack said they had nausea, and may or may not have thrown up," Fahs says.

"my skin was clammy," "i was very very hot"

"Sixty-one percent of women who survived a heart attack said they were cold, clammy or sweaty," Fahs says.

One heart attack symptom common to women that Rosie did NOT report experiencing was unusual fatigue that isn't relieved by rest. "Overwhelming fatigue is experienced most often by women; 67 percent of women survivors of heart attacks report experiencing unusual fatigue," says Fahs. Breathing difficulties, described by Fahs as a sudden shortness of breath not due to exertion, are also common.

Rather than calling 911 right away when she started having symptoms, Rosie waited until the next day to see a cardiologist -- a big mistake, Fahs says. "I wouldn't advise anyone to wait 24 hours. If you have chest discomfort and/or any reason to think you might be having a heart attack, call 911 immediately," she adds.

But one thing Rosie did RIGHT was to take a Bayer aspirin, Fahs says. "The American Heart Association recommends taking an aspirin," Fahs says (but they advise calling 911 first; the operator will help you decide if aspirin is right for you).

Rosie's left anterior descending artery (a branch of the coronary artery) was diagnosed as 99 percent blocked, and a stent was put in. Now, Rosie is urging other women to "know the symptoms" and to "CALL 911" -- and Fahs thinks she really can make a difference.

"A woman being public about having a heart attack will bring awareness to the issue and hopefully will help other women," she says.